Seemingly serendipitous meetings in the midst of daily living can become the setting for life-altering divine appointments by God’s grand design, and the Scriptures provide many illustrations. An unsuspecting shepherd sees a burning bush, a tax-collector sitting at his booth hears the words ‘follow me,’ fishermen are met and called by Jesus at the edge of the waters, an Ethiopian in a chariot on a desert road is met by running courier on divine duty.

I first met Isaac at the edge of a barbecue grill in England as he cooked a picnic for the members of his church.

He was barely 19 years old and was telling me about the six months he had spent in India on a short-term mission internship working with destitute young adults and children. I sensed immediately a heart for lost people and, perhaps, a calling to somewhere other than his home country.

That brief meeting culminated two and a half years later in an invitation from Jon Shuler and me to Isaac to join NAMS as an intern in Bangkok. He arrived in October 2014.

NAMS Companions are united under Christ for the work of (1) making disciples that make disciples, (2) raising up disciple-making leaders, and (3) helping start disciple-making communities or churches. Isaac is an example of the kind of disciple-making leadership that we seek to raise up through our work.

He came to us with a strong foundation of faith through the godly influence of his own family and DNA Networks, his sending church. But, in the time we have spent together these last 2+ years I have seen him grow and develop into a more confident, faithful, and faith-filled pioneering leader who now is not only a full-fledged NAMS Companion, but who has been given increasing leadership responsibilities in our global work.

How did it all happen?

When Isaac joined All Nations (our NAMS community in Bangkok) as an intern, I began to meet with him weekly for discipleship. We prayed, read Scripture, shared vision, and planned together for the work of the Kingdom. We also met one other morning with another leader, to strategize for our work and pray for NAMS Companions globally—and for those we were seeking to reach and disciple locally.

Isaac also accompanied and assisted me in two small groups I led at that time, one of which was a Great Commission Cell meeting in my home.

The other group was our ‘Questions’ group: five young Western expatriates, none of whom were believers. We explored big questions of life, like ‘Does God really exist?’, the problem of evil and suffering, and other religious worldviews. Isaac grew adept at listening and then answering such questions with wisdom, and there were clear opportunities to present the Gospel as well. This outreach group gave Isaac an opportunity to watch and learn how to do pioneering outreach in a cross-cultural setting.

Within a year as an intern, I encouraged Isaac to find his own avenues for mission. With our Thai partner church, he launched and led an English Club to teach and practice conversational English and play games on a Friday night. He began to intentionally reach out to try and disciple a few young guys, including two Pakistani asylum-seekers who were part of our community. We continued praying for people that he was building relationships through playing football and other social activities (including a young migrant worker and his family, and another young Thai man).

Isaac continues to actively disciple young people. God has opened a door of discipling opportunity for him in a Christian student hostel for university students, 80% of whom are Buddhist.

Today, Isaac is the Global Coordinator of the NAMS Global Apprenticeship Program (GAP) through which he hopes NAMS can raise up other disciple-making leaders for our global three-fold work.

We can see that Isaac is a gifted leader God has given us for global mission. We thank God for bringing him to us, and for the role he gave us in preparing him for his ministry to the Kingdom.

The question was joy to this disciple-maker’s heart. “Of course I do. When can we meet?”

I began to meet with two young men, Rion and Jamie, in September of 2015. We set a pattern of meeting on Tuesdays for a sack lunch, bibles in our laps, for an hour and a quarter.

I began to share with them the central things God has taught me about making disciples who make disciples. I required these things of them:

You spend quality time in the Word of God every day.

You memorize twelve scripture passages.*

You meet with me every week for six months.

We re-evaluate at the end of that time.

We always started and ended with prayer—usually me to start and one of them to end. We discussed whatever had come up in the preceding week, relating it always to Scripture (with particular focus on Jesus’ teaching about discipleship). Are you abiding in the word of Jesus?

After six months, they wanted to continue. I invited them to a men’s retreat focused on disciple-making, and they came. After a year I challenged them to begin to multiply. They formed a small men’s group, with unbelievers and believers. They began to re-evaluate their other commitments and use of time. They are becoming fruitful.

We continue to meet most Tuesdays. They have both grown in their walk with the Lord. Rion is now Senior Warden of his parish, and Jamie oversees the Youth Ministry in his parish. Both have interiorized the principles of being disciple-making men. Both are seriously engaging with other men about being disciple-making men. Both are re-prioritizing their use of time, seeking God’s will for them in a new way.

As we have grown together as disciple-making friends they have also come to understand NAMS’ ministry to the nations, and to pray with and for us. They are learning about their part in Jesus’ Final Command. Finally, both of them have become familiar with the NAMS Centurion Project, and have signed up as Centurions.

This is an example of elementary disciple-making, as I have learned to live it.

Those true Christians who have ever traveled in Europe will know that the evidence of past Christian faith is everywhere. Place names, existing buildings, and ruins—once symbolic of a lived faith, and used in direct support of that faith—are scattered all over the continent, but the living communities that built and named them are gone.

Here in France, about 1% of the population will attend a Christian service this Sunday, and only God know what percentage of that small number are truly his. To rekindle the faith in this land is a daunting challenge.

To this challenge, Matt & Katie Riley have given themselves. They are living, and raising their four children, in one of the most difficult places on the face of the earth to be boldly follow and serve Christ Jesus. Why?

The short answer is simple: they believe God has called them to do it. They would serve him wherever they lived, but they believe their Lord wants and needs them in France. He has work there for them to walk in. After nearly six years, they are well integrated into French life, are very fluent in the language, and have just taken possession of a new home in their assigned village. How do they do their work?

First, they build relationships with their neighbors. They are constantly open to the possibility that the next person may be a “person of peace.” They are building webs of relational connectivity – at the grocery store, the bank, the hardware store, and on the playground.

Second, they make opportunities to break bread with those they meet. Tomorrow night there is a concert in the square behind their home, and they are cooking out with a few of their newest acquaintances. They are trying to honestly and lovingly get to know them as people.

Third, they have established a simple entry path for those interested in exploring the Christian faith. They call it Discovery Bible Study. What does the bible really teach about God, about human beings, about the purpose and meaning of life? No one has to believe to participate, but the prayer of the Rileys is that—in time—some will.

Fourth, Katie has specifically begun to meet with other young mothers, to share the joys and challenges of motherhood. She is the gospel leaven in the lump.

To this date Matt has not begun regular public Sunday worship in Pontivy. That will be added when the time is right. But there is daily prayer that the kingdom will come in Pontivy, as it is in heaven.

Will you join them as intercessors for the arrival of that glorious day?

As I write, Cynthia and I are just settling in to a small farmhouse in the Brittany peninsula of France. We have come for two months to help Matt & Katie Riley with their new work church planting in Pontivy. I will be directly working with Matt, and Cynthia will be painting – of course. We will also have a most needed and wonderful respite from the pace of life in the USA. Already, after only two days in France we are slowing down. There is a sublime quiet here, near the little town of Bannalec, which is intoxicating to us. We are anticipating daily times of silence with the Lord, regular bible study, regular sabbath, and the rhythm of occasional retreat. By God’s grace we hope to reclaim this pattern so we can reintroduce it to our life in the States. In the last year it has slipped away from us a bit.

I have often pondered the Sabbath command, and wondered at its beauty. From sundown on Friday till sundown on Saturday. Twenty-four hours with no work. And then, the evening of Saturday and another night’s rest. If we stopped work at 6:00 pm on Friday we would have 36 straight hours of rest and time with the Lord. If we subtract sleeping hours, 20 hours of undistracted time for God, our family, and our community of faith, as well as our own physical rest. How many of us are setting that much time apart in any given week? Why is it so easy for us to break the Sabbath? Is it different than the other nine commandments?

The early church clearly believed that the Sabbath command could now be moved to Sunday, because of the Resurrection. In the centuries of faith, the Christian community honored the Lord of the Sabbath with serious purpose and obedience. When and how did we decide that we were exempt in the 21st century? Is it alright to murder? To steal? To commit adultery? God forbid!

As an ordained clergyman, I know how easily the work of the church can become a seven-day tyranny. It ought not to be so. If we model breaking the commands of God, why should our people be any different?

The Sabbath was also to be given to those who labored for the People of God. All were to observe the day. Have you ever felt a twinge of guilt going out to eat after services on Sunday, and seeing all those who must work on the Lord’s Day so you can be served?

Might it be time for all of us to reconsider how we came to be caught up in a 24/7 cycle of life and work? How we have allowed the cares and concerns of this world to choke out of us time needed for the fruit bearing call of Jesus to be deeply planted in our hearts and lives?

In this special interview, we speak to Isaac Lasky, who is the global coordinator of the new NAMS Global Apprenticeship Program (GAP). Having interned for 2 years at our NAMS base community in Bangkok from 2014-2016, Isaac has taken on the challenge of developing and managing a one – two years apprenticeship program for young people who want to learn to be disciple-making leaders at one of our NAMS bases. This will be a wonderful opportunity to get equipped and experienced in becoming a missionary disciple of Jesus. Please help us get the word out!

Isaac and his fiancé, Pat

NAMS: Tell us a little about your background and journey to faith in Christ?

Isaac: I grew up in a Christian family in Colchester, England. I was part of a number of vibrant churches. My favorite memories from those times are of mission trips. I was baptized when I was 14 years old. I had some rough times when I was 16/17 years of age but came out of that season with a deeper ownership of my Christian faith. A big part of that was joining NAMS European partner church, DNA Networks, in Colchester.

When I was 18 I did a six month trip to Mumbai, India and that cemented in my heart a sense of call to the nations. I then gained a BTh Mission from Formission College through Reign Ministries, whilst I serve as a youth worker for DNA Networks for three years. It was soon after that I met Manik Corea and Jon Shuler and they invited me to be a NAMS apprentice in Bangkok for two years!

NAMS: What was the experience like serving as a NAMS apprentice/intern in Bangkok those 2 years? What was most difficult? What grew you the most? What did you enjoy? Please tell all the juicy bits!.

Isaac: It felt like a massive step of faith. Moving the other side of the world to work in a new country, culture and language was a big adjustment but through it I learnt to have a greater dependence on God and so many other things with it.

I would say that being away from friends and family was the most difficult part. But I have learnt that the Lord puts the lonely in families. Through this experience I have gained friends that have become like family and a fiancée that will! I really treasure those relationships.

In terms of growth I would say the amount of opportunities I was given was the key. I had a period of acclimation but I was quickly given opportunities to lead and develop new work. I didn’t always succeed, but the team supported me every step of the way and I have learnt so much about leading pioneering work, especially in a cross-cultural context.

I also really enjoyed supporting and teaching at NAMS conferences in Bangkok, Myanmar, Nepal and India. It was an opportunity to be part of what God is doing in different parts of the world, to learn from Christians in other cultures and to see that we are part of something much bigger!

NAMS: You are now the NAMS Global GAP coordinator. Tell us in a few words what it stands for, and what its main purpose is?

Isaac: The main purpose of NAMS Global Apprenticeship Program or GAP is to train and equip the next generation of pioneering disciple making church planters. We currently looking to have Global Apprentices at NAMS base communities in Thailand, Nepal, USA and Chile.

NAMS: What kind of people are we looking for to join NAMS GAP?

Isaac: We are looking for people who are teachable, adventurous, pioneering, have a heart for mission and are committed to following and obeying Jesus. This may be ideal for young people looking to do a gap year or for people in their 20s/30s (or older) who want to get their feet wet in global mission. If they want to become NAMS companions, this will be ideal preparation too.

NAMS: What will they receive from being an apprentice on this programme?

Isaac: Apprentices will hopefully attain the following things: they will be equipped and trained to be a disciple making leader anywhere in the world; they will receive hands on training and mentoring from established disciple making leaders; there will be opportunities to lead and pioneer new works; they will get to participate in NAMS projects, missions trips, conferences and retreats; and finally, they will experience serving Jesus in a cross-cultural or missional context.

NAMS: On the thorny issue of funding, how much is needed to join this programme? Will GAP participants have to raise their own support?

Isaac: The cost of the program is dependent of the location of the apprenticeship. An applicant needs to contact us to get a country-specific price. Apprentices will need to raise a certain percentage of support with the rest coming from NAMS Global and the hosting base community but that is tailored according to an applicant’s background and circumstances. There will always be a need for an apprentice to raise their own support. It’s an important step of faith, one that has greatly benefitted me personally.

NAMS: Whom should they contact or what should they do if they want to find out more or wish to apply?

Isaac: The first thing for them probably to do is visit our website at www.namsgap.com and register your interest! I can then answer your questions and give more information over email or Skype.

Finally, dear friends, after sharing with you about sweet Audrey and talking a bit about why prayer is so transformative—for the pray-er and the circumstance—we come to the call for intercession.

What a blessing it is to be able to communicate with our God and to know that at any moment we can share with Him the concerns of our own lives. Even so, intercessory prayer is different. It is praying specifically for the concerns of others, pleading on their behalf.

The truth is, sometimes I find it difficult to pray for others with genuine fervency; I imagine this may be the case for many of us not yet accustomed to doing so. Recently I read a passage by Richard Foster in The Celebration of Discipline which struck me. He writes, “Usually, the courage actually to go and pray for a person is a sign of sufficient faith. Frequently our lack is not faith but compassion.” Those lines convicted me deeply: often it’s my lack of compassion for others that limits my prayers.

Faced with my own limitations, I cry out: How can anyone ever be compassionate “enough?” Seriously, with the news and internet at my fingertips and constant connectedness with family, friends, and acquaintances via technology and social media, there is no shortage of prayer needs. How is one ever to respond to all of them genuinely, and to pray for our leaders and the poor and fatherless as Scripture directs us? I’m overwhelmed from the get-go.

But, dear believers, ours is not the role to respond to all needs; only God can do that. Rather, our responsibility is to respond to where God calls us by putting compassion on our hearts. Foster goes on to remind the Christian that as God gives us compassion, we are moved to pray; and that for which we are not stirred to genuine compassion, we trust that God is moving another believer’s heart in such a way. Yet, as we are faithful by responding in prayer where He prompts us, He is in the work of transforming our hearts to be more sensitive to the needs of those whom we do not yet have eyes to see.

Here at NAMS the Lord has put a specific call on our hearts: to engage in pioneering global ministry to share the Gospel and build up communities of disciple-making disciples. Every global need is in fact someone’s local need, but when a local community does not know the message of hope found in Jesus Christ, we must pray for God to raise up men and women from other parts of the globe to go share that life-changing, community-changing, and world-changing news.

Prayer is such a vital step in this process that we cannot do it alone. When Jesus sent out seventy disciples two-by-two into the mission field, he told them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Luke 10:2). We need more laborers to be part of bringing in the harvest. These laborers indeed include missionaries in the field, but they also include an arsenal of prayer support from across the globe.

For this reason, NAMS is working to expand its intercessory prayer efforts worldwide. To achieve this, we will be sending out monthly prayer updates as well as resources and strategies to help prayer groups and communities grow in prayer and connectedness with other communities around the world. To sign up for this newsletter and be part of this team, you can write to mary.garrison@namsnetwork.com.

To those who do not yet feel a burden to pray for the nations, we ask God to give a genuine compassion for the lost peoples. Then, we simply start to pray, trusting in His faithfulness to respond to that prayer which delights His heart.

Last week, we considered the ‘I’ for invest: the giving of our money and resources towards the community of faith we are a part of and for the spread of God’s kingdom. Investing is an essential act of worship that must soon be taught in the life of a new disciple of Jesus. Today we consider the S in our PROMISE acronym: Share, which must also be taught early in the discipleship process. I am referring specifically to the priority of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others.

Witnessing is a forgotten command today, one many Christians do not give much thought to. We expect those gifted as evangelists and ‘professional’ Christians workers like pastors and missionaries to be doing the work of making Christ known, while the rest of us are fed, cared for, and busy with other ministries of the church. This is a defective, not to mention unbiblical, view of the witness of the whole Church. We cannot so easily ignore (or delegate to only a few) the evangelistic purpose and responsibility of the whole people of God (1 Peter 2:9; Mark 16:15; 1 Peter 3:15; 2 Corinthians 5:20).

Just prior to his ascension, Jesus instructed the disciples he had trained and commissioned to wait in Jerusalem, till they were cloth in power from on high. After the Holy Spirit empowered them, he told them that they ‘will be His witnesses’ from Jerusalem, where they were, to the uttermost parts of the world (Acts 1:8). ‘You will be witnesses’ is an imperative statement, not a ‘could be’ or even ‘should be’ but a ‘shall be’, and this was one of the explicit outcomes of the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus expected them to be witnesses. He expects us who are the spiritual descendants of the first apostles to do likewise.

We each have our own Jerusalems (those closest to us relationally), our Judeas (those culturally alike to us), our Samarias (those who are geographically near but culturally more distant) and our ends of the earth (those who are geographically and culturally distant to us). No place is to be out of reach of Gospel witness.

What does it mean to ‘witness’? A witness is someone who testifies to what he has seen and heard, who is able to recount to friends and strangers or a court of law, his first-hand experience of an incident he observed or participated in.

When a person is born anew by repentance from sin and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, they immediately have a story to tell, of what they now know, however elementary: that God by his great love and mercy has rescued them from their sin and its eternal consequence of hell and separation.

We need to help new believers to know 1) they are called to be witnesses of their Risen Lord and 2) how to tell their stories.

In our work in Bangkok, Thailand, we have tried to teach those we disciple to write down and memorize their story or testimony of how they came to faith, and to be able to tell it in 3 minutes. Their story would consist of three parts: 1) what life was like before they came to faith in Jesus, 2) how they came to faith in Him, and 3) the difference that has resulted.

Additionally, as part of disciple-making in our groups, we have them make a list of 5 people they know who have not yet become followers of Jesus – whether family, neighbors, colleagues, or friends. They then commit to praying as a group and individually for each of the people in their list, asking God for opportunities to witness to them, inviting them to their discipleship group or bringing them to the leaders if they have questions or are interested or responsive to their stories. Every so often, the list is to be updated.

We make it a practice in our disciple-making relationships to regularly ask each other for updates about those on our lists, and to share encouraging testimony of people we’ve been able to witness to for Christ. In this way, we help disciples witness as a first step to becoming disciple-makers.

If hell is real and lost people without Christ are headed there, we cannot keep silent. If Jesus is Risen Lord, we must tell it home and abroad. If the Gospel is true, then we must bear witness to it.

On the morning of his execution, the English murder convict Charles Peace was read to about the fires of hell from the book The Consolations of Religion by the prison chaplain. Peace reportedly silenced the chaplain with these words: ‘Sir, if I believed what you and the church of God say you believe, I would walk across England if it were covered with broken glass from coast to coast, even on my hands and knees, just to save one soul from the hell you so glibly speak about!’

Indeed, if today we found the cure to cancer, would we keep it merely to ourselves?

George Whitefield, the great Anglican clergyman and evangelist once said, ‘God forbid that I should travel with anybody a quarter of an hour without speaking of Christ to them.’ May God give us the same evangelistic zeal to witness by our words and lives.